


The Visitor

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: First Times, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 05:05:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/794241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone is hiding a secret from his past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Visitor

## The Visitor

by XFreak

Author's webpage: <http://www.e-fic.com/xfreak/>

Disclaimers: The Sentinel, Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg, and Carolyn Plummer belong to Pet Fly Productions and Paramount. No copyright infringement is intended. This work of fiction is purely for enjoyment and no money is being made from it. The original character whose name I won't mention here to avoid spoiling, belongs to me. 

Notes: Feedback and constructive criticism welcome. I owe a great deal to Grey for all the support, suggestions, and patience helping me with my writing. Thank you. =) This is not a sequel to Fear. That one's being difficult. All mistakes are my own. 

Summary: Someone is hiding a secret from his past. 

* * *

The Visitor  
by XFreak 

The knock on the door jolted Jim from his concentration on the murder case file he had been reading. Closing the file, he set it aside and rose from his chair. When he reached the door, he opened it to find a petite young woman with long straight black hair and clear sparkling blue eyes smiling at him. She had one of those infectious smiles that forced you to return it. 

"Can I help you?" 

"I hope so. I'm looking for Blair Sandburg." 

Standing back so that she could pass, he motioned her in. "Come on in. He's in his room studying. Can I tell him who's here to see him?" 

Smiling again, she dropped the bomb. "I'm Casey Sandburg, Blair's wife." 

Jim stared at her with his mouth hanging open, fighting the nausea clenching his stomach into a knot. After a few moments, he recovered the capacity for speech. "His what?" 

Casey blushed. "His wife, sir." She glanced around the room, eyes averted from his. 

Nodding even though the young woman wouldn't meet his gaze, he shut the door. "O-okay. I just wanted to make sure I heard you right. Just a minute." 

He set off toward Blair's room, knocking softly before entering. At the younger man's invitation, he walked in, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes narrowed and the muscle in his jaw danced. 

"You have a visitor. She says she's your wife." As he spoke through clenched teeth, Jim's stony gaze held Blair's neutral one. The younger man's eyes widened just before he jumped off the bed, running past the older man into the other room. 

As Jim returned to the living room, he heard the younger man exclaim "Casey!" and pick her up. He swung her around, her feet flying off the floor and her arms wrapping themselves around his neck. By the time he deposited her back on the ground, the older man's head had begun to spin. Settling back down in his chair, he observed the events unfolding before his eyes. 

"God, Casey, how have you been? It's been like _so_ long, man." As he talked, he guided her over to sit with him on the couch, his hand on her elbow. After sitting, they sat facing each other holding hands, their legs pretzeled. 

"I'm okay, Blair," she said, gazing at Jim. Her face flushed as Blair caught her gawking for about the third time. 

Blair smiled knowingly. "Oh, um, Casey this is my roommate, Jim. Jim, this is..." 

"Your _wife_." He spoke the words with a razor's edge such that they could easily slice. The cold gaze that he leveled at his partner caused the young man's heartbeat to speed up. Blair looked back to his wife, attempting to cover his nervousness with a smile. 

Jim lost track of the conversation, eyes having lost focus and sound failing him. The only feelings that kept his attention, anger and betrayal, waged war inside him. How could Sandburg keep something like this from him? He'd thought the younger man trusted him. He'd considered them friends, _best_ friends. 

When Blair stood, Jim watched as he headed out the door. He thought the younger man must be going to his car to retrieve something. Sizing up the young woman in his territory, he folded his arms in front of his chest. 

The older man jerked his head in the direction of the parking lot. "Was he a good husband?" 

"Yes. He's a very caring, sweet man," she said, smiling in reminiscence. 

Nodding, he said, "He's a good person." The detective continued to battle the sick feeling squeezing his stomach. 

Bouncing back into the loft, Blair carried something resembling a photo album. "Jim, we're gonna go in my room for a while." 

"Okay, Chief." He attempted a weak smile. 

"Jim, are you okay? You don't look so good." His brow creased into a frown as he scrutinized the detective. 

He shook his head. "I'm fine, Sandburg. I'm just a little tired. Go spend some time with your friend." Not able to say wife, he waved his hand in a shooing motion. 

"Okay. C'mon Casey. It's over here." They moved into his room, shutting the doors behind them. 

Jim tried to occupy himself with Saturday football, but his mind kept wandering back to his friend. Why did he feel so territorial all of sudden? He wanted to go into Blair's room and physically remove the woman invading his space. 

Later, he decided that he needed to go the restroom. Forgetting to dial down his hearing, he accidentally overheard the conversation on the other side of the door as he passed. 

"God, Blair, you're so beautiful. It was really hard for me to watch you fall in love with Derek. I wish you could've fallen for me while we were married. We must've been the only married people who never slept together." She spoke in a wistful manner. 

He heard Blair practically pounce on her. "Casey! Shh!!! Jim will hear you!" His voice carried an urgent tone. 

She laughed. "What? Can he hear through walls?" 

He'd heard enough. The knotting that he'd managed to get under control squeezed and twisted his stomach into a fist. As he stumbled into the restroom quietly, the fist threatened to steal his air as well. Leaning over the sink, he splashed cold water on his face, then dried it. When he came back into the living room, he saw his partner hugging Casey at the door. 

"Call me, Blair." 

"I will." 

"Nice to have met you, Jim." 

"You, too." He forced a smile to his face, attempting not to stare at his partner. 

After shutting the door and locking it, the young man strolled back into the living room. Practically bouncing, he flopped himself happily onto the couch. 

After a few minutes, he noticed the expression on his best friend's face. The forehead muscles drew into a frown. The teeth clenched, jaw muscles twitching. 

"Jim?" 

"Sandburg, can I ask you something?" he said with an intense approach. His unfocused gaze made his inward focus evident. 

"Sure." He smiled at the older man. 

"When I walked by your room, I heard something." 

"You were _listening_ to us?" His eyes filled with a blazing blue fire. 

"No. At least I didn't mean to. I had to go to the restroom and forgot to dial my hearing down. I'd been watching football." The excuse sounded lame even to his own ears. 

Not completely convinced, Blair relented. "Okay. What do you want to know?" He held his breath, hoping against hope it would be anything else. 

"Sandburg, are you gay?" He gazed into the younger man's eyes, sharply focused. 

All color drained from Blair's face. He stood, walking to the door. His heart raced as he reached for his jacket. "I need to take a walk, man. I'll be back later." With that, he grabbed his keys and headed out the door. 

After about thirty minutes of trying to figure out what in the world he would say to his partner, Jim heard the familiar sound of Blair's heartbeat approaching. Its familiarity calmed his nerves a bit. He took a deep breath, expelling it from his lungs slowly. 

The door opened and Blair emerged, shoulders slumped and eyes averted. He stopped, hanging up his jacket, before turning toward the older man. 

"Hey, Jim." He nervously tucked a strand of hair behind his right ear before shoving his hand back into his pocket. 

"Chief." Calmly. 

"Um, sorry I bolted like that." 

"Understandable," he accepted, nodding. 

The young man walked past him to the balcony doors. Staring out at the beautiful colors of the setting sun, he searched the sky for answers. None magically revealed themselves to him. 

When the detective turned in his chair, he saw the young man standing with his head slumped forward and his hands still in his pockets. 

"Are you ready to talk, Sandburg?" His voice remained even, not wanting to spook the younger man again. 

"Not really, but I guess we need to anyway." The shaky voice tugged at the larger man's heart. Blair strolled over, sitting down on the couch, still keeping his gaze averted. 

"Why did you need to take a walk?" 

"It's all over, man." He shrugged, regarding Jim with wounded eyes. 

"What are you talking about, Chief? What's all over?" 

Blair looked directly at him. "Us, man. Our friendship." He pounded his head into the back of the sofa, closing his eyes while slamming a fist into the cushion beside his leg. 

"Why is our friendship over? You're losing me here." The older man wore that seriously curious expression he sometimes got when working on a difficult case. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. 

"Jim, man, I know you're not going to want some fag living with you. People will talk." His self-confidence had obviously hit rock bottom for him to ridicule himself in such a manner. 

"Sandburg, I've been old enough to think for myself for a while now. And I don't want to hear that garbage come out of your mouth again." The older man's jaw began to tense again, face reddening. 

"You'd really want me to stay?" Astonished blue eyes regarded the older man. 

He nodded. "Unless you start acting different or wearing a sign, nobody's going to know," he said with a teasing smile. 

Blair began to clean imaginary dirt from under his fingernails. "Um, Jim?" When he noticed that he had the older man's attention, he continued. "How do you feel about me being bisexual? Does it bother you?" 

"Other than the fact that you didn't tell me, no. But that's something I want to talk to you about." His voice took on an edge. 

"Oh, man." He draped the bend of his arm over his closed eyes. 

"Sandburg, I do not appreciate going to the door on a Saturday afternoon and greeting your _wife_ , a wife that I never knew existed until _she_ told me." The older man stood, glaring down at the younger man with his arms tightly hugging his chest. 

"She's my ex-wife, Jim," he answered, peeking out from under his lifted arm. 

"Does that really matter here, Sandburg? You were married at one time in your life. I can understand you not wanting to tell me about the bisexual thing. But why didn't you tell me that you were married before?" The tense set of his jaw demonstrated the boiling anger kept in check for the moment. 

"I don't know. I guess I just never thought it was important." He gazed down at his hands. 

"It wasn't important?! Sandburg, getting married is a major event in your life. You let me drone on about what married life is like when you knew what I was talking about all along!" 

"It's not like that, man. I don't really know what it's like. What you told me about being married to Carolyn interested me. It's a part of who you are. I wasn't just humoring you." He regarded the older man with sincere eyes. 

"No?" The incredulous tone cut through the air. 

"No, man. I never slept with Casey. I couldn't. I just didn't feel that way about her. I felt really bad about that, too. I think she fell in love with me after we got married." The sadness revealed in his eyes reinforced how much he hated to hurt anyone. 

"That's kind of backwards." 

"Tell me about it," he said, running a hand through his messy hair. "She wasn't a citizen. She would've been deported without being able to finish her degree, so I offered to marry her until she did." 

"She's still in love with you." 

Blair's eyes shot up to meet Jim's. "No way, man! It's been years." 

The older man raised a hand to still his objections. "Trust me on this, Sandburg, if you trust me at all that is." 

"Oh, man, that is like so low." Jim internally winced at the hurt expression, but didn't let it show. 

"Don't even talk to me about low, Sandburg. I thought you trusted me. I thought you were my best friend. I _thought_ I was yours. You made me feel like a fool today. That's something I never expected from you. Anyone else, yes. You, no." 

"Jim." The younger man tried to reason with him. 

"No, let me finish. I put my trust in you, Chief. Returning the favor would've been the least you could have done. What is so damned hard about telling me you were married?" He waited for an answer, hands perched on his hips. 

"Jim, your anger is _way_ out of proportion to the situation." 

"Betrayal is betrayal, Chief." Shrugging, he said the words in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Betrayal? Jim, you are like so out there, man! It's not like I handed you over to the bad guys or something. You know I'd never betray you." His soft tone as he spoke the last sentence made his disbelief clear. 

Jim turned to stare into his eyes. "No, Chief. You betrayed my trust, which is far worse. I'm going out for a while." He stalked toward the door, retrieving his jacket on the way. 

Blair stood up, reaching out to him. "Jim, don't. Don't leave like this. Please." His eyes silently pled with the older man much more desperately than his voice had. Not able to refuse those eyes, the detective replaced his jacket onto the coat rack. 

"Blair how am I supposed to feel that you're being straight with me?" He ran his hand over the top of his head, resting it at the nape of his neck. 

"That's enough, Jim! You haven't told me everything about your life, either. You hide things almost as second nature, so don't lecture me about holding back one thing! I practically have to pry information out of you all the time, man!" He angrily flung his hands in all directions. 

"That's different," Jim said, breaking eye contact. 

" _How_ is that different?" 

"You want to know about me as a researcher. I want to know about you as a friend and partner." 

"You are _way_ harsh, man. Not everything I do or say is a part of my dissertation! It's a large part of my life, yes, but not my whole life. I don't just move in with somebody so I can observe them. Man, I don't believe this." He turned his back to the older man, shaking his head. 

"I'm sorry, Chief, but once you make me question my trust in you, I start to question everything." 

"What do I have to do to get past this trust thing you have? I don't tell you one thing and you have a holy hissy fit!" He turned back to the older man, his hands flying about again. 

The anger visibly pulsated from Jim's body. His neck muscles stood taught, his fists clenched. "There's nothing you _can_ do, Sandburg. You have to earn my trust back. I may not choose to give it so freely this time." 

Blair walked straight to the older man, placing his hands on the large shoulders in a fierce grip. He shook them in order to get the larger man to look at him. 

"I'm really sorry, Jim. I didn't mean to hurt you or make you angry. You're the best friend I've ever had. Do you want to know the honest reason why I didn't tell you?" The older man nodded, touched by the feeling in the other's voice. "I honestly thought you'd laugh in my face. I didn't think you'd believe me." 

Jim drew back without breaking the contact on his shoulders. "With your table leg comments, I suspected that you'd think I was lying." 

"Chief, I..." His features relaxed into a frown, the muscles surrounding his mouth bunched unhappily. 

"You don't have a response to that, do you? That's because I was right, man. Now, who betrayed whose trust here?" The younger man allowed his hands to fall to his sides. 

Having been found guilty, Jim reached to pull the other man into an embrace. "Damn, Chief, I'm sorry. Some friend I am, huh?" 

Blair broke from the embrace, flying across the room like a scared rabbit. "Jim, don't do that, man." 

"Don't do what?" 

"Don't hug me like that. It makes me uncomfortable." 

"Why?" Jim crept across the floor gracefully, painting the picture of a panther stalking its prey. 

"Now that you know I'm bisexual, you can't just go around touching me like that all the time." His heart raced, palms sweated, and his eyes darted around the room looking at anything except Jim. 

"I've always touched you, Chief," he said in a dreamy voice. "I don't know if I can stop. I don't know if I _want_ to stop." 

"Jim, man, you're making me really uncomfortable here." Wide blue eyes conveyed the panic their owner felt as his back met the wall, breath catching at the contact. 

"Uncomfortable how?" Jim firmly rubbed his hand across the smaller man's chest, being sure to tease both nipples along the way. Stopping over the younger man's heart, he asked, "Uncomfortable here..." His hand drifted down to Blair's groin, giving it a firm stroke. "...or uncomfortable here?" 

"Oh, God, man. Jim, you have _got_ to stop." His arms raised in a surrendering position, hands pushing at the air between them. 

Predatory smile. "Why? You want me. I can smell it." 

"Damn sentinel senses." 

"If you don't want me, just tell me and I'll leave you alone. I wouldn't force you, Chief. I'm not into that." 

"J-Jim. Are you gay? Or are you just playing with me?" 

The larger man leaned down to his partner's ear, never ceasing the motion of his hand against the hard member. "I'm bisexual, Chief, _and_ I'm playing with you." 

Blair shut his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall that held him upright. His adam's apple bobbed with the effort to bring himself under control. 

"I must say that I'm impressed. You're well hung for such a small guy," he whispered seductively into Blair's ear. 

The eyes opened drowsily. "Jim, stop toying with me. Either get serious or quit. And don't do this if you don't mean it." 

The older man's hand ceased motion, but didn't leave the anthropologist's hardness. "Look at me." The younger man managed to focus on him. "I don't do casual. You know that. Do you want me? Do you want this?" 

"You'll never know how much. I've wanted you for so long." His voice sounded ragged, but he didn't care. 

Jim unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pulling them and the boxers down the strong, slender legs. He untied and removed the shoes so that he could take the garments off completely. To keep the younger man from catching a chill, the detective left the shirt on. The tail hid his view, so he grabbed Blair's hand and urged him to pull it up to the bottom of his stomach. The student complied without question, holding the shirt out of the way. 

"Now, where was I?" Blair gazed up at him, eyes without focus. As Jim's hand neared his cock, the younger man's breath hitched and his body began to tremble. The detective stopped. "Blair? Do you want this? You have to tell me." 

The younger man nodded, lips parted slightly and eyes dark. At the confirmation, Jim wrapped his hand around his best friend's dick, causing his own jeans to tighten almost unbearably. He began a slow pumping motion, evoking a series of breathy moans from the anthropologist. 

The younger man's hips jerked in time to the stroking of his cock. Jim reached his other hand lower, gently rolling the warm balls hanging temptingly before him. At that moment, he realized that he hadn't tasted those luscious lips yet. He bent to kiss the other man just as he opened his mouth in a silent cry. 

Blair tasted of tea and toothpaste. His lips were cool and soft, but his slippery tongue scalded Jim's. The older man had to fight to keep from zoning on all the sensations that assaulted him. His guide's taste and scent could drive him insane, one without the other. The smell of arousal leaking from his proud member almost rendered the detective helpless. 

"Tighter, Jim, faster." Breathless requests issued from the younger man's mouth as he broke the kiss. A stray thought ran through his mind and he reached for Jim's zipper. The older man twisted his hips away from him, causing him to give up without much effort. 

"This time is for you, Chief." Jim ran a series of small kisses across the younger man's jaw, down his neck, and finally rested at the hollow there. He began to suck, knowing that he would leave a mark. Not caring, he thought that everyone would assume that one of Blair's many conquests left it. 

"Oh God, Jim. Faster...faster...oh, man, this is gonna feel so good..." 

"Can you feel it starting?" 

Harsh gasps escaped the younger man's mouth. His eyes tightly shut, he nodded. 

"I can feel your balls drawing up. Do you want to come now?" 

Panting, he managed to answer. "Please. Don't let this be a dream. It _has_ to be real." 

"It's real, Sexy. Don't ever doubt that," he answered, nuzzling his guide's neck. 

Blair stood up on his toes, frantically scraping at the wall trying to find purchase to grab onto something. 

"Just let it go, Blair. I'll catch you." The detective stood up straight to observe his friend's release. 

The younger man's breath came in a series of short, harsh gasps. "Oh, GOD, Jim! ILOVEYOU!!" With that, his body convulsed, filling the older man with utter joy as he watched wave after wave of bliss wash through the younger man's body. 

When the last wave was done, he began to slide down the wall. The older man wrapped his arms around the trembling body, hugging him close and lifting him. Blair wrapped his arms and legs around his partner, holding on for dear life. 

Jim settled on the couch, laying the younger man on top of him. He caressed the hair that he loved to watch fly on a breezy day. Stroking the smaller man's back, he felt more content than he had in years, maybe even his whole life. 

"Blair?" 

"Hmm?" A very sleepy voice answered him. 

"Did you mean what you said when you came?" He felt the heat of a reddened cheek against his chest. 

"Yeah, man. I'm in love with you. Is that okay?" 

"It's fine by me, Chief. You're stuck with me now." 

Jim retrieved the blanket from the back of the couch, spreading it over his cold natured lover. Together, they drifted in warmth, inside and out, into the oblivion of sleep. 

**END**


End file.
